Cookie Tips

To save time when baking several batches of cookies, drop or place your cookie dough on foil sheets, then slide them onto the baking sheets. You can set up a regular assembly line and allow yourself to relax between batches. Plus, clean up is a cinch.

Want some fancier store-bought or bakery-bought cookies? Melt some dark chocolate and white chocolate and dip the cookies half-way into them. Do a dark batch and a light batch. This is particularly good with Chinese almond cookies.

Make your own slice 'n bake cookies and freeze them. Most doughs freeze just fine—as long as you wrap them airtight. Form the dough into a log and wrap in plastic and foil then seal in a freezer bag. Let thaw 15 minutes before cutting. For fun, make several varieties and freeze them in short logs, then mix and match as you want.

Sharon Tyler Herbst has a nifty tip in her "Food Lover's Tiptionary" (Hearst Books): to create an effortless glaze on bar cookies, sprinkle them with chocolate chips while they are hot out of the oven, cover with foil and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes or until the chocolate melts. Smooth the lumps with a spatula for an even surface.

Another tip for melting just a few chocolate chips on a hot cookie: use a hair dryer on high. Then, sprinkle with coconut or other festive decorations.

A Little Horseradish Trivia

Horseradish is still planted and harvested mostly by hand.

Sales of bottled horseradish began in 1860.

Horseradish is added to some pickles to add firmness and "nip."

Horseradish is only 2 calories a teaspoon, is low in sodium and provides dietary fiber.

Germans still brew horseradish schnapps. Some also add it to their beer.

The International Horseradish Festival takes place on the first Saturday of every May in Collinsville, Illinois, "Horseradish Capitol of the World." Events include the Root Toss, Root Golf, and the ever-popular recipe contest.